Punching apparatus



Jan. 10, 1961 Filed March 27,

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PUNCHING APPARATUS Filed March 27. 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 In ventor REGINALD R EDEN A tlomeys Jan. 10, 1961 R. R. EDEN PUNCHING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 27, 1959 Inventor REGINA EDEN B U Attorneys Unite PUNCHING APPARATUS Reginald Raymond Eden, Sylvanus, Lagham Park, South Godstone, England, assignor to International Computers and Tabulators Limited, London, England, a British company This invention relates to punching apparatus.

As is well understood, statistical machines are continuously being constructed to operate at ever increasing speed and this is particularly the case with electronic computing machines. Such machines can effect computations in a very short interval of time, but often the best use cannot be made of this facility because it is not possible to feed data to the computer section of the machine sufficiently quickly, or at a rate comparable with the rate of computation to punch in cards or tapes the results obtained.

The comparative slowness of the punching apparatus is usually due to the fact that some form of punch selecting apparatus, such as set bars or like devices, must be fully operated before the punching action can commence and this incurs loss of time not only due to the setting of the set bars or like devices, but because the punch-actuating means must remain inactive until setting is completed and time must be taken in overcoming the inertia of the actuating means before punching can be elfected following the setting of the set bars or other devices.

It is a main object of the present invention to provide a punching apparatus which, by avoiding or reducing the above-mentioned time losses, permits punching, particularly of cards, to be effected at a rate of cards per minute greater than that previously obtainable and which is of the order of 400 cards per minute.

According to the present invention punching apparatus comprises a die, at least one row of punches supported for independent lengthwise movement into and out of punching relation with the die, punch actuators, one for each punch, rockable continuously about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis transverse of the punches and supported for selective movement from datum positions thereof into the line of movement of the punches appropriated thereto so that rocking movement thereof effects lengthwise punching movements of the punches, and restoring means operable to restore punches and actuators to the datum position thereof.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood one embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section of punching apparatus according to the invention, the apparatus being arranged for the punching of statistical record cards,

Fig. 2 is a top plan of Fig. 1, some parts being omitted for clarity,

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of the arrangement of the punches,

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections illustrating the mode of operation of the apparatus, and

Fig. 6 is a timing chart.

Referring to the drawing a card 1, Figs. 3 and 5, is fed by any suitable means, not shown, into a position for punching where it is arrested by a stop, also not Patented Jan. 10, 1961 shown. When the card is in position for punching it is located above a die 2, Figs. 4 and 5, and beneath a stripper plate 3, and punches 4 are supported for lengthwise movement by the stripper plate 3 and a plate 5. The die 2 and stripper plate 3 are stationary elements, but the plate 5 is supported by any suitable means, not shown, for movement towards and away from the stripper plate 3. a

The punches 4 are arranged in rows R and columns C as illustrated in Fig. 3, one punch being provided for each data-indicating position of the card 1. Each column C contains twelve punches so that if the card to be punched is an -column card there will be twelve rows R of punches each row containing eighty punches. Each punch comprises a cutting element and a punch bar 6, one end of which is engaged with the end of the cutting element remote from the cutting edge thereof, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, and the other end of which is engageable by an actuator 7. As can be seen from Fig. 1, the ends of the punch bars 6 which are remote from the cutting elements are arranged, in echelon and the actuators 7 are arranged in rows, one actuator 7 being provided for each punch of the row. The rows of actuators 7 are superimposed in two opposed groups, of which the right-hand group only is shown in Fig. 1, for cooperation with the rows of punches appropriate thereto. Each group of rows of actuators consists of six superimposed rows.

The actuators 7 are guided for lengthwise movement by combs 8 and are pivoted on rods 9, each rod 9 being common to all of the actuators of a row and having its axis transverse to the longitudinal axes of the punches 4. Each actuator is rockable continuously about rod 9 and when in the datum positions thereof the actuators are displaced from the line of movement of the punching appropriate thereto. Continuous rocking movement of the actuators is effected by continuously rotatable eccen tric rollers 10, each row of actuators being disposed between two rollers 10, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 4 and 5. Rotation of the rollers 10 is eifected from the main drive of the machine, not shown, through a belt 11, Fig. 1, which rotates a pulley 12 mounted on a shaft 13, Fig. 2, carried by a bracket 14 mounted on a frame 15 which v together with a frame'16 comprises the frame elements which support the apparatus. Secured to the shaft 13 is a gear wheel 17, Fig. l, which meshes with a gear wheel 18 on an intermediate shaft 19 mounted in the frame 14. The gear wheel 18 meshes in turn with a further gear wheel 20 secured to the spindle for the centre roller 10 of the group of rollers shown at the right-hand side of Fig. 1. The gear wheel 17 also meshes with a gear wheel 21 mounted on the spindle for the roller 10 which is the centre roller of the group of rollers 10 disposed at the left-hand side of Fig. 1. Associated with the gear wheels 20, 21 are spiral worms 22, 23 which, as illustrated at the left-hand side of Fig. 1, mesh with further spiral worms 24 secured to shafts 25 in bearings 26 carried by the frame 15. As can be'seen from Fig. 1, further spiral worms 24 mesh with further spiral worms 23 to eflect rotation of the remaining rollers Movement of the actuators from the datum positions thereof into the line of movement of the punches appropriate thereto is efiected by rod-like elements 27 supported by bars 28 for lengthwise movement, one end of is engaged by a thrust pin 29, Figs. 4 and 5, which is movable axially with the plunnger 30 of a solenoid 31 appropriate thereto. The extent of movement of the plungers 30 is determined by buffers 32 each of which consists of a bar made of non-magnetic material. One buffer bar 32 is provided for each row of actuators 7 and is supported by brackets 33 carried by the frames 15, 16. Screws 34 are provided to adjust the position of the buffer bars and nuts 35 are provided to lock the screws 34 in position after adjustment thereof. It will be understood that for each row of actuators 7 there is a number of solenoids 31 equal to the number of actuators, and in order to accommodate the solenoids in a relatively small space and to provide for the fact that the diameter of the solenoids is greater than the pitch between the actuators 7, the solenoids 31 are arranged in banks of four as can be seen from the righthand side of Fig. 1, the ends of the rod-like elements 27 which are remote from the actuators 7 being splayed to alt'gn them with the solenoids 31 appropriate thereto. When a solenoid is energised its plunger 30 is moved to the left, as viewed in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, and so effects lengthwise movement of the rod-like element 27 connected thereto by the thrust pin 29 and corresponding movement to the left of the actuator 7 so as to cause the inner end of the actuator to be inserted into the line of movement of the punch appropriate thereto. Lengthwise movement of the plunger 30 under control of its solenoid is eifected when the rollers 10 are in the top dead centre positions thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 4, so that as the rollers approach the bottom dead centre positions thereof the actuators 7 are being moved in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in the drawings, so that any actuator which has been inserted into the line of movement of the punch and punch bar appropriate thereto is caused to engage with the punch bar and to effect lengthwise movement thereof to force the cutting edge of the punch 4 through the card as illustrated at the left-hand side of Fig. 5. It will be understood, as is clearly seen from the drawings, that those actua ors 7 which are not moved lengthwise by the solenoids appropriate thereto continue their swinging movement in the plane of movement of the punches appropriate thereto, but do not affect engagement with their punch bars 6.

Those actuators 7 which are moved lengthwise by the solenoids 31 appropriate thereto into the paths of punch bars 6 are restored to the datum positions thereof by restoring bars 36. A restoring bar 36 is provided for each row of actuators 7 and, as can be seen from Figs. 1, 4 and 5, the restoring bars 36 are movable in openings 37 formed in the actuators 7 thereby to permit movement of selected ones of the actuators 7 relative to the other actuators of the row, while such others of the actuators remain in the datum positions thereof. Each restoring bar 36 is carried by arms 38 secured to a spindle 39. The spindles 39 are journalled in the frames 15, 16 and to the ends of each spindle 39 there are secured arms 40 rockable with the spindle. The arms 40 for each group of restoring bars 36 are connected in common by links 41, and the links for each group are connected by connecting bars 42, Fig. 1, through hellcrank levers 43 rockable about pivots 44. The connecting bars 42 are also connected to operating links 45 movable lengthwise from the main drive of the machine by a cam not shown.

Referring to Fig. 6, a cycle of operations commences with the rollers 10 in the bottom dead centre position thereof, that is the position shown in Fig. and position I, Fig. 6, at position II, Fig. 6, all active actuators 7 have been fully restored to the datum positions thereof by the restoring bars 36, and at position III the punches have been fully withdrawn from the die 2 by the plate 5. At position IV, the punched card is ejected from the die and at positions V, VI the rollers are at the top dead centre and that solenoid 31 which is to effect operation of its actuator is energised. A new card reaches the punching position at position VII, Fig. 6, and at position VIII the plate 5 is moved to the position at which the punches are free to move lengthwise relative thereto. At position IX the rollers 10 effect counter-- clockwise movement of the active actuators thereby to effect punching of the card and at position I the cycle has been completed and the next cycle is commencing It will be understood that although the apparatus according to the invention has been described as adapted for punching statistical record cards it can also be adapted for punching tape either by the use of a single row of punches or by the use of a plurality of rows of punches.-

I claim:

1. Punching apparatus comprising a die, at least one row of punches supported for independent lengthwise movement into and out of punching relation with the die, a punch actuator for each punch, each said actuator being engaged between continuously rotatable eccentric rollers for continuous rocking movement about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axes of the punches and supported for lengthwise movement into and out of the path of the punch appropriate thereto, an operating element co-operating with each said actuator to effect movement of the actuator from a datum position thereof into the path of the punch appropriate thereto, actuatorrestoring means co-operating with each actuator to restore the actuator to the datum position thereof following movement thereof by the operating element appropriate thereto, and punch-restoring means co-operating with the punches to effect movement thereof out of operative engagement with the die.

2. Punching apparatus comprising a die, punches arranged in rows and columns and supported for independent lengthwise movement into and out of punching relation with the die, the punches of a row being of equal length and those of a column of differing lengths arranged in echelon, a punch actuator for each punch, the actuators for each row being engaged between continuously rotatable rollers common thereto to effect continuous rocking movement of the actuators about a pivot common thereto and having its axis transverse to the longitudinal axes of the punches, said rollers and pivot supporting the actu ators for lengthwise movement thereof into and out of the paths of the punches appropriate thereto, an operating element co-operating with each said actuator to effect movement of the actuator from a datum position thereof into the path of the punch appropriate thereto, actuatorrestoring means relative to which the punch actuators are independently movable from the datum positions thereof, the actuator-restoring means for each row of actuators being common to all actuators of the ro to restore actuators of the row to the datum positions thereof following movement thereof by the operating elements appropriate thereto, and punch-restoring means co-operating with the punches to effect movement thereof out of operative engagement with the die.

3. Punching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each operating element comprises a rod supported for lengthwise movement and for each said rod a solenoid operable to effect lengthwise movement of the rod thereby to move the punch actuator associated therewith into the path of the punch appropriate thereto.

4. Punching apparatus according to claim 3, including a thrust pin movable axially with a plunger for the solenoid and interposed between the plunger and said rod.

5. Punching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the actuator-restoring means comprises a restoring bar for each row of punch actuators, an arm rockable with each said bar, and an actuating link connected with each of said arms to effect simultaneous rocking of each of the restoring bars.

6. Punching apparatus comprising a die, punches arranged in rows and columns and supported for independent lengthwise movement into and out of punching relation with the die, the punches of a row being of equal length and those of a column of differing lengths and arranged in echelon in two opposite. groups, a punch actu ator for each punch, the actuators for each row being engaged between continuously rotatable rollers common thereto to effect continuous rocking movement of the actuators about a pivot common thereto and having its axis transverse to the longitudinal axes of the punches, said rollers and pivots supporting the actuators for lengthwise movement thereof into and out of the paths of the punches appropriate thereto, an operating element co-operating with each said actuator to effect movement of the actuator from a datum position thereof into the path of the punch appropriate thereto, actuator-restoring means relative to which the punch actuators are independently movable from the datum positions thereof, the actuator-restoring means for each row of actuators being common to all actuators of the row to restore actuators of the row to the datum positions thereof fol lowing movement thereof by the operating elements appropriate thereto, and punch-restoring means co-operating with the punches to effect movement thereof out of operative engagement with the die.

7. Punching apparatus according to claim 6, wherein each operating element comprises a rod supported for lengthwise movement and for each said rod a solenoid operable to effect lengthwise movement of the rod thereby to move the punch actuator associated therewith into the path of the punch appropriate thereto.

8. Punching apparatus according to claim 7, including a thrust pin movable axially with a plunger for the solenoid and interposed between the plunger and said rod.

9. Punching apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the actuator-restoring means comprises a restoring bar for each row of punch actuators, an arm rockable with each said bar, an actuating link connected with each arm of the restoring bars for the actuators associated with one of said groups, a pair of bell-crank levers connected one to each of the arms associated with said groups and to a connecting bar, and an operating link connected with said connecting bar to effect simultaneous operation of all of the restoring bars.

10. Punching apparatus according to claim 9, wherein each operating element comprises a rod supported for lengthwise movement and for each said rod a solenoid operable to effect lengthwise movement of the rod thereby to move the punch actuator associated therewith into the path of the punch appropriate thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,211,165 Robinson et a1. Aug. 13, 1940 2,436,126 Tholstrup Feb. 17, 1948 2,453,782 Chisholm Nov. 16, 1948 2,675,078 Zenner Apr. 13, 1954 2,837,162 Arthur June 3, 1958 

